Kualoa Regional Park - PHOTOGRAPHER COMMENT

Panorama taken from the shoreline at Kualoa Regional Park on the east coast of Oahu. This picture, taken on a sunny day, shows the Chinaman's Hat island just offshore with the volcanic Koolau Range rising to the west.

Kualoa Regional Park - FURTHER INFORMATION

Kualoa Regional Park is on the east coast of Oahu in Hawaii. The area has a long sacred history with native Hawaiians. Whale bones washed up on the shoreline were turned into prized jewelry. Chinaman's Hat Island just offshore is known locally as Mokoli'i, after a dragon like creature. Hawaiians believed that when Mokoli'i was killed in battle by Hi'iaka, the younger sister of the god Pele, she dismembered the body with bolts of lightning and a tail fluke landed in the water at Kualoa forming this island. The island is best viewed from Kualoa Point

The beaches at Kualoa Regional Park have been greatly reduced by erosion into thin strips of sand, and there is little coral reef. Swimmers must be aware that the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish can be blown into these waters by the trade winds. These jellyfish have a vicious, potentially fatal, sting.

Kualoa Regional Park contains a camp ground and open spaces often used for sports and competition events. Within the park BBQ areas, grills, showers, restrooms, public phones and picnic areas. Kualoa is rarely crowded. Nearby is the Kualoa Visitor Center Ranch, a local tourist theme-park like attraction offering horse riding and motorized jungle tours.

TRAVEL DIRECTIONS AND GETTING THERE

Kualoa Beach Park is about 13 miles south of Laie and 11 miles north of Kaneohe on the 83 (Kahekii) Hwy at the northern end of Kaneohe Bay.